Hamada Type
- Category
- Pistol
- Barrel
- 90 mm
- Weight, empty
- 650 g
- Introduced
- 1941
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Hamada Type is a Japanese World War II semi-automatic pistol designed by civilian sporting-gunmaker Bunji Hamada, closely derived from the FN/Browning Model 1910. The original Type 1 is chambered in .32 ACP and noted for its excellent quality and finish; nearly all of it was shipped to China. The later Hamada Type 2, adopted in 1943, is rechambered for the Japanese 8mm Nambu service cartridge with a longer barrel and steeper grip angle.
Bunji Hamada was a civilian sporting-gunmaker pressed into military production in 1941; nearly all of his quality .32 Browning clones vanished into China, and his 8mm Nambu Type 2 was adopted in 1943 but barely built before the war ended. Hamada himself survived and reopened a hunting-rifle shop in Kamakura.
Type 1 (.32 ACP, 9-round magazine) was made 1941 to early 1944; Type 2 (8mm Nambu, 6-round magazine) was adopted June 1943 but barely produced, with only around 50 assembled at a Notobe textile factory before the war ended. Type 2 has distinctive semicircular cutouts at the rear of the slide to lighten it.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Japan Firearms Manufacturing Company
- Category
- Pistol
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1941 to 1945
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 90 mm
- Overall length
- 165 mm
- Weight, empty
- 650 g
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Blowback
- Firing mechanism
- Striker fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 9
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Slide
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 300 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 210 J
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
- Browning 1910 pattern
High quality finish
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 123 .32 ACP pistols | 650 g | 670 g | Lighter than about 60% |
| Overall lengthAmong 124 .32 ACP pistols | 165 mm | 155 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 126 .32 ACP pistols | 90 mm | 87 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 127 .32 ACP pistols | 9 | 8 | Holds more rounds than about 80% |
Answers
Questions about the Hamada Type
How much does the Hamada Type weigh?
The Hamada Type weighs 650 g (1.43 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Hamada Type?
The Hamada Type is chambered in .32 ACP and 8x22mm Nambu.
How many rounds does the Hamada Type hold?
The Hamada Type holds 9 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Hamada Type?
The Hamada Type is 165 mm (6.50 in) long overall, with a 90 mm (3.54 in) barrel.
Who makes the Hamada Type?
The Hamada Type is made by Japan Firearms Manufacturing Company (Japan). It was designed by Bunji Hamada.
When was the Hamada Type introduced?
The Hamada Type was introduced in 1941 and discontinued in 1945.
How does the Hamada Type operate?
The Hamada Type uses a blowback action, and its firing mechanism is striker fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Imperial Japanese Army
- 1943
Provenance
Confidence in this record
66%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/hamada-pistol' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "hamada-pistol", "name": "Hamada Type", "manufacturer": { "id": "japan-firearms-manufacturing", "name": "Japan Firearms Manufacturing Company", "countryCode": "JP", "foundedYear": 1895, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "00548b349ba5c43089d89bcd6df6b9d8fc6770a7371c3d5c3b8eba4741b5b85e" }, "category": { "id": "pistol", "name": "Pistol", "description": "Handguns designed to be fired with one or two hands" }, "country_of_origin": "JP", "year_introduced": 1941, "barrel_length_mm": 90, "weight_empty_g": 650, "action_type": "blowback"}